A relentless heat wave has descended upon Northeast Asia, creating dangerous conditions across South Korea, North Korea, and Japan. The extreme temperatures have resulted in human fatalities, widespread health crises, and the deaths of animals at a Tokyo zoo.
In South Korea, where a major heat wave advisory was active on Wednesday, temperatures in the densely populated greater Seoul area reached as high as 39 degrees Celsius (102.2 degrees Fahrenheit). The nation set a historical record on Sunday in the southeastern city of Yangsan, where the temperature climbed to 42.5 degrees Celsius (108.5 Fahrenheit), the highest mark since weather observations began in Korea in 1904. During a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, President Lee Jae Myung characterized the heat wave as a national disaster and urged officials to prioritize life-saving measures.
The impact of the heat was evident at a stadium in Incheon, where a spectator in his 20s collapsed during a baseball game between the SSG Landers and the LG Twins on Tuesday night. Emergency personnel performed CPR before transporting him to a hospital, causing a 10-minute game delay. The Korea Baseball Organization subsequently announced the cancellation of all 10 scheduled games for Wednesday and Thursday after another fan in his 20s also required medical treatment for heat-related symptoms.
In North Korea, authorities have offered guidance on how to manage the heat. Min Son Yong, deputy director of the internal medicine department at Pyongyang General Hospital, advised citizens via the Rodong Sinmun newspaper to consume dog meat, known as “dangogi” or sweet meat, and fish porridge to boost protein intake. He also suggested eating tomatoes, cucumbers, watermelons, ginger, and mung beans to help cool the body. While dog meat consumption is traditional in North Korea during the summer, South Korea is preparing to implement a formal ban on the slaughter, breeding, and sale of dog meat for human consumption starting next year.
Japan is also struggling with the extreme weather. The country's anti-disaster agency reported that over 18,000 people were transported to hospitals with heat stroke symptoms between July 20 and July 26. Japan's Environment Ministry issued heat stroke alerts for most of western and southern Japan on Wednesday. Meanwhile, in the southwestern city of Kumamoto, recovery efforts following a July 28 magnitude 7.1 earthquake are being hampered by the heat; more than 43,000 households remain without water, and one woman in her 70s died after developing heat stroke while sheltering in a car.
The wildlife impact has been severe at Tokyo’s Tama Zoological Park, where three lions have died. Mugi, a 3-year-old female, stopped eating on July 19 and was unable to stand the next day. Despite cooling efforts and medical treatment, she died on July 28. Two other female lions, 11-year-old Ichigo and 15-year-old Luena, also died shortly thereafter. Autopsies confirmed that all three animals suffered from dehydration and multiple organ failure, which zoo officials attributed to the intense heat.
